Knitting machine



Mrch 11, 1947. SHQRTLAND 2,417,135

KNIT'IING MACHINE Filed Marc 22, 1943 f 4 sheets-sheet 1f MNHN 1 f2March 11, 1947. A, SHORTLAND- 2,417,135 j KNITTING MACHINE IFiled March22, 1943 41l Sheets-Sheet 2 In venor rthur 'zortlan d, i

A. sHoRTLAND v2,41, 7,135 KNITTING MAcHNE March l1, 1947.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 22, 1943 v,"Attor ey March 11, 1947. A.sHoRTLAND 2,417,135 v KNITTING-MACHINE v Filed March 22, 1943 4sheets-sheet 4 Inventor l Patented Mar. 11, 1947 KNETTNG MACHINE ArthurShortland, Leicester, England, assigner to lideilor Bromley and Co.Limited, Leicester, England Appiication March 22, 1943, Serial No.480,073 lin Great Britain December 31, 1941 3 Claims.

This invention comprises improvements in rotary or straight bar knittingmachines, having a line of needles and a line of sinkers movable oneafter the other between the needles. In such machines (of which theCottons Patent is the modern example) as at present constructed twokinds of sinkers are employed, jack sinkers that are projected, one inevery second needle space, through the medium of pivoted jacks engagedby a slurcock which travels along the machine and engages the jacks oneafter another, and dividers that are subsequently advanced in unison,one in every other needle space, by a catch bar which at a still laterstage serves to retract all the sinkers.

According to the present invention there is provided, in a rotary orstraight bar knitting machine, sinker advancing mechanism comprising ahelical cam arranged with its longitudinal axis lengthwise of the lineof the needles, which cam is rotatable about said axis to advance thesinkers serially. It will be appreciated that as the cam rotates,successive portions in the length thereof operate directly or indirectlyon successive sinlers to advance the sinkers seriatim, and it ispreferred that the cam shall be located at the back of the sinker headwith its axis of rotation horizontal. It may operate directly on parts(e. g. the rear ends) of the sinlrers, which are preferably reinforcedor thickened to provide adequate wearing surface, or a suitablemotiontransmitting member may be interposed between the cam each sinkerto be projected thereby. For example, said members may be rocking jacks(similar to the conventional jacks in Cottons r.

Patent machines) or thrust blades or sliding jacks.

The cam, the axial length of which is preferably at least great as thatof the line of sinkpreferably extends through less than one completeturn, so that in one position of rotation it is entirely inoperative.During this inoperative phase other knitting motions may take place, forexam ule, the retraction of the sinkers oy a catch bar. serialprojection of the sinkers to take place rst in one direction along theline starting at one end thereof and then. for the next course, in thereverse direction from the other end. In order to meet thisdesideraturn, the direction ci movement of the cam is reversed at eachend of the draw The foregoing and other features of :the invention setout in the appended claims are incorporated in the constructions whichwill now bede- It is necessary, however, for the scribed in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagramshowing the operation of a helical cam according to this invention onsinkers or-sinker-moving instruments;

Figures 2. 3 and l are diagrams respectively indicating the facts thatsaid cam may either operate direct on the sinkers, or on the jacks, oron thrust members or sliders interposed between it and the sinkers; v

Figure 5 is a cross section showing the relevant parts of a CottonsPatent or other straight bar or rotary knitting machine incorporatingthe invention;

Figure 6 is an elevation, and Figure 7 a cross section through oneconstruction of cam;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of another cam, and Figure 9 is a detailthereof;

Figures 10 and 11 show another construction of carn; and

Figure 12 shows a still further construction.

Referring'primarily to Fig. 1 on a drum IE] supported by a shaft II formovement of-at least partial rotation about the shaft axis, there is ahelical. cam I2 which extends for less than one complete turn, and itwill be appreciated that as this cam is angularly displaced about theaxis of the shaft it causes instruments I3 with which it engages. to beprojected serially. As shown in Fig. 2 the said cam may engage directlywith the sinkers I4, said sinkers conveniently having their rear endsreinforced as at I5. Alternatively as shown in Fig. 3 it may engage withjacks I6 interposed between it and jack sink-ers I4, or in the thirdalternative shown in Fig. 5 the cam may engage with sliders or thrustblades I'I interposed between it end the sinkers M. the said members I'Ibeing slidable in a bed I8. It will therefore be understood that themembers I3 in Fig. 1 may be taken as representing either the sinkers I4oi Fig. 2 or the jacks I5 of Fig. 3 or the blades Ill of Fig. 4.

As seen in a section normal to the axis of oscillation it is necessaryfor that flank of the cam which iirst meets the sinkers I4 or themotiontransmitting members (e. g. the flank I2a in Fig. 3) to besuitably shaped or inclined to impart the desired movement to thesinkers. This shape is desirably such that the sinker movements resembleas closely as possible those imparted by the usual slurcock. In the caseof a cam which reverses its rotation both flanks should be shaped inthis manner as are the flanks I2a and I2b in Fig. 3. The cam may alsohave a concentric portion or dwell I2C at its crest whereby a pluralityof sinkers is held in position of maximum advance for a short period.

Turning now to Fig. 5, this illustrates the application of the inventionto a rotary or straight bar knitting machine. primarily a Cottons Patentmachine. and in this figure only those parts which are essential to anunderstanding of the invention are shown. since the remaining parts arewell understood in the art and need no illustration or descriptionherein. The sinkers Id are mounted in a sinker head I9 which issupported on a head rail extending between the cross frames 2! saidframes being further connected by template rail 22, front rail 23 andback rail 24, The head rail 2U further carries the bed IS in which thethrust blades I1 are supported. and also carries bearings 25 on whichthe helical cam I2 is mounted for oscillation about the axis II so thatas it oscillates the jack sinkers f4 are projected serially first fromone end of the division and then from the other. These sinker motionsare similar to those imparted bv tbe usual slurccck during the draw. Thedividing sinkers are projeeted towgvds the needles 5| in unison bv Irhecatch bar 2G and all the sinkers are retracted in unison by said catchbar. these catch bar movements occurring while the helical cam isinoperative.

The mechanism for oscillatingr the helical cam I2 about its axis II ishere shown bv wav ol' example as consisting of a draw lever 27 pivot-edat 28 and having a truck 29 engaging a cam track 3Q formed on a cam .'iIwhich is mounted. on the cam shaft 32 to rotate at the appropriatespeed. The free end of this draw lever is connected to an upright rack33 guided at 34 and engaging a pinion 35 associated with cam I2 so thatas the draw lever 21 is oscillated the cam I2 is oscillated also. Thecam I2 may have its axis of rotation adiustable laterally for adjustmentof stitch quality. and the bearings-25 may be constructed to providethis adiustment. one adjustment means being diagrammatically indicatedat 52.

In a multi-section machine. sinker-advancing mechanism according to thisinvention will be provided for each section.

The cam I2, or each of them, may be formed as a serpentine rib on theperiphery of a drum or cylinder or may be formed as a helical membersupported from a shaft by radiating arms. In either case the cam may besolid throughout its length or may be built up from a plurality ofcamelements located one after another in serpentine form. Such elementsare preferably interchangeable. In one construction (Figs. 6 and 7)incorporating a drum or cylinder I0, the latter is provided in itsperiphery with spaced annular grooves 39 (so that between successivegrooves there are annular lands 4U); each groove 39 receives a keyportion H2 formed on the back of a cam element I I2a which extendsobliquely to the length of the key portion so as to overlie the adjacentland or lands 4G and to line up with a like element. having its key II2' in the next groove 39, whereby a succession of such elements aredisposed in the required helical formation. The elements Illia may besecured in position by screws, e. g. in the case of a hollow drum [Il ascrew 4I may extend outwards from the interior thereof into eachelement, there being a hole I2 through the peripheral wall of the drumlll diametrically opposite the screw 4I to afford access to the screwhead. Alternatively, cam elements may be located in or on a helicalgroove or other track, which may be provided on the periphery of acylinder or on a frame or member itself of helical form and supportedfrom a shaft by radial arms or their equivalent. In one construction,Figs. 8 and 9, a cylindrical drum i0 has a helical groove 43 cut in itsperiphery, said groove being of dove-tailed or undercut form in section.Plate-like cam elements II2b are slid into this groove 43 from one endthereof, said elements being arranged side by side and being retained byan end plate or other closure 1M for one end of the groove d3. A likearrangement may be employed when the groove 43 is formed in a helicalmember d5 (Figs. 10 and 11), which may be die-cast. In a modication, onelongitudinal edge or boundary of the groove 43 in a helical memberaforesaid may be constituted by a detachable boundary strip 46 (whichmay or may not be undercut) serving to clamp the elements IIZb againstthe boundary of the groove.

It is desirable to provide the radial arms 41 supporting a frame orhelical member 45 aforesaid with means for adjusting the radius o'f thegroove t3, so that the cam elements II2b may be set to operatecorrectly. For this purpose each arm il may receive an eccentric bush itthrough which the sha-it II extends, Which bush '38 is rotatablyadjustable. The said bush may be tapered externally and split as at 5Fl,to permit it to be locked in the desired position of rotationaladjustment within the arm, by a lock nut B9 at one end of it which nutpulls the arm up on to the taper.

In a `further construction illustrated in Fig. 12 the cam l2 is built upfrom a plurality of lobelike cam elements H20 threaded on the shaft IIand positioned in the appropriate spiral formation by the engagement ofa projecting pin 36 in each element with the hole 3l in the nextelenent, the spacing of the pin 3 and hole 3l in each element being suchas to give the desired pitch to the successive elements. The helicalstack of elements Il2c is preferably clamped by` screw means such as thenut 33.

I claim:

i. In a knitting machine having a li-ne of jack and dividing sinkers,and a catch bar for advancing the dividers and retracting all thesinkers; a helical cam mounted adjacent the sinker line for projectingthe jack sinkers serially, which cam, is of a length at least equal tothat of the sinker line, extends through less than one complete turnwhereby it is provided with an ineffective portion and comprises a camdrum provided with a series of circumferential grooves and a series ofcam elements disposed side by side in said groove in helical form; andmeans for circumferentially moving said cam as a whole about itslongitudinal axis, first in one direction to project the jack sinkersserially from one end of the line and then to become inoperative, andthen in the reverse direction to project the jack sinkers serially fromthe other end of the line and to become inoperative again, whereby thecatch bar subsequent to the advance of the sinkers may retract all thesinkers during each inoperative phase of the cam.

2. In a knitting machine having a line of jack and dividing sinkers, anda catch bar for advancing the dividers and retracting all the sinkers; ahelical cam mounted adjacent the sink- .er line for projecting the jacksinkers serially,

which cam is of a length at least equal to that of the sinker line, andextends through less than one complete turn whereby it is provided withan. ineiiective portion, which cam comprises a shaft, cam elementsthreaded on said shaft in spiral form, and interengaging means onSuccessive elements for positioning them in that form; and means forcircumferentially moving said cam as a whole about its longitudinalaxis, rst in one direction to project the jack sinkers serially from oneend of the line and then to become inoperative, andvthen in the reversedirection to project the jack'` sinkers serially from the other end ofthe line and to become inoperative again, whereby the catch barsubsequent to the advance of the sinkers may retract all the sinkersduring each inoperative phase of the cam.

3. In` a knitting machine having a line of jack and dividing sinkers,and a catch bar for advancing the dividers and retracting all thesinkers; a helical cam mounted adjacent the sinker line for projectingthe jack sinkers serially, which cam is of a length at least equal tothat of the sinker line, extends through less than one complete turnwhereby it is provided With an ineffective portion, and is provided withmeans for adjusting the radius of parts thereof; and means forcircumferentially moving said cam as a Whole about its longitudinalaxis, rst in one direction to project the jack sinkers serially from oneend of the line and then to become inoperative, and then in the reversedirection to project the jack sinkers serially from the other end of theline and to become inoperative again, whereby the catch bar subsequentto the advance of the sinkers may retract all the sinkers during eachinoperative phase of the cam.

' ARTHUR SHOR'ILAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

